The sport of snowboarding has been practiced for many years, and has grown in popularity in recent years, establishing itself as a popular winter activity rivaling downhill skiing. In snowboarding, a rider stands with both feet atop a single board, and negotiates a gravity-propelled path down a snow-covered slope. Both of the rider's feet are secured to the snowboard, and the rider controls speed and direction by shifting his or her weight and foot positions. Controlling the snowboard is accomplished by rotating the snowboard about its longitudinal axis, thereby selecting which edge of the snowboard engages the snow, the angle of engagement, and the orientation of the snowboard with respect to the slope of the terrain.
In order to control the orientation of the snowboard, the rider wears boots that are firmly secured to the snowboard by snowboard bindings and in an orientation that is generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the snowboard. Many snowboard bindings have been developed, generally categorized as either strap bindings (also called conventional bindings), where a pair of frames having straps for releasably securing the rider's boots is attached to the board, or step-in bindings, where cleat mechanisms are integrated into the sole of the snowboard boots and a complementary cleat-engagement mechanism is attached to the snowboard.
In strap bindings, the binding frame typically includes a flat base portion that receives the sole of the boot. The base portion attaches to the board, frequently in an adjustable manner such that the rider can select a particular angle between the boot axis and the board axis. Integral side walls extend upwardly from either side of the base portion, providing lateral support to the attached boot, and a highback is pivotally connected the rear of the frame and extends vertically therefrom. Due to the pivotal connection, the highback can be set at a pre-selected forward lean angle. Typically, two pairs of straps are included and attached to the frame side walls, the straps being adapted to extend over the rider's boots and adjustably interconnect, to secure the snowboard boots to the snowboard. The first pair of straps extends generally around the ankle portion of the boot, and the second pair extends generally over the toe portion of the boot.
Board control may also be affected by the height, medial to lateral positioning, and the amount of forward lean, i.e., the angle of the rider's leg with respect to the horizontal plane, of the highback. For example, as the height of the highback increases, its force transmission increases resulting in more responsive board control. Conversely, as the height of the highback decreases, its power transmission decreases resulting in less responsive board control. Additionally, as the forward lean increases, the rider is able to more efficiently set the edges of the board on the snow, resulting in improved board control. Accordingly, as a rider becomes more skilled at snowboarding, it is often desired to be able to adjust the binding such that the forward lean is adjusted. Further, the rider may often wish to change the height or medial to lateral positioning of the highback such that different maneuvers are possible and to provide improved rider comfort and performance.
The optimal adjustments of the binding is a function of several factors, such as the snow conditions on the slopes, the terrain of a specific run, and the particular form and ability of the rider. Since snow conditions and terrain often change from one run on a hill to another, snowboarders often want to adjust their bindings. However, adjustments on prior art bindings, such as forward lean or medial to lateral adjustments of the highback, are difficult to make on the hill because the rider must use a screwdriver or other tools to manipulate the adjustment mechanisms so that the binding can be adjusted to meet the demands of the rider. It is inconvenient or impractical to carry a tool out on the slopes, and it is often difficult to handle a tool barehanded in cold, icy conditions. Most snowboarders, accordingly, do not adjust the binding as often as they would like, and thus, most snowboarders do not get the optimum performance from their boards.